Let Tradition and Community Catholicism Rekindle Your Faith this Candlemas

Nestled away in the heart of Mexico City sits the ancient city-state of Xochimilco, now just one of the many boroughs that makes up the capital of the largest Spanish-speaking nation. 

Many people may recognize Xochimilco because of its canals that stem from the days before the Valley of Mexico had its lake system drained, or from its creatures inside its canals like the axolotl, an endemic neotenic salamander species close to the verge of extinction in the wild. 

Most notably however has to be Xochimilco’s role in the chinampa agricultural technique, whereby farmers are able to make artificial islands to grow crops.

Yet, there is another famous part to Xochimilco that is most applicable for today and that is its Catholic cult of the Niñopa or Niñopan. 

Now, some of you may be reading this and thinking, what is it and how can Catholic and cult be used in the same sentence?

Xochomilco’s Niñopa is one of the many Child of Jesus Images that has gained a following and thus a cult (not the bad kind of cult, rather the Church term) across the world. Some of the most notable Child of Jesus Images come from Prague in the Czech Republic and Cebu in the Philippines, but it is Mexico that features probably the most of them. 

These images are not pictures, rather they are doll-like statues, often measuring between 40 and 75 centimeters tall, very similar to a baby, and they often are believed to intercede for the believers. Many miracles are attached to these images. The Holy Infant Jesus of Prague is most notable in this regard for having spoken to a priest by stating: “The more you honor Me, the more I will bless you.” 

Following this, the Holy Infant Jesus of Prague became an image meant to protect Czechs and all people from the battles that would follow such as during the Thirty’s Year War. In one invasion, the children of the area were taken to the church that the Holy Infant Jesus of Prague is housed in and they all prayed to Him and were saved. 

In Xochimilco for example, their Child of Jesus Image is known for many interesting feats. For one, many believe He is alive. He is believed to wander outside, make noise in His room, and even bless the harvest of various crops. He is said to go into the dreams of people who pray through Him, especially sick children, and He is also said to have worked many other miracles like curing people of illnesses, helping people find jobs, and other impressive feats. As the Xochimilca people say, God is alive inside Him and works through Him. 

Therefore, He has garnered a following and much tradition.

But, unlike the Holy Infant Jesus of Prague and many other Child of Jesus images, the Niñopa is unique for being housed by a family, not in a Church.

Every year on Candlemas, February 2nd, a new family earns the right to watch over the Niñopa for one year until next year’s Candlemas. The host is called the mayordomo, and they often have to wait 20 to 45 years to host the Niñopa. 

In order to host, one must have enough room for the Niñopa, including a room just for Him. The mayordomo must take him to the physician for an annual checkup, to Church every evening, to hospitals for the sick, to homes for the sick, to visit people in Xochimilco, the mayordomo must dress Him everyday by choosing from the more than 5,000 articles of clothing He has garnered through the years, and the mayordomo must bring Him to all the festivals of which there are many including January 6th (Three Kings’ Day/Epiphany), April 30th (Day of the Child), and from December 16th-December 24th (Las Posadas). You can read more about these traditions here. 

Each day starts at the very latest at 8 in the morning! And, wherever the Niñopa goes, He is often followed by traditional dancers, musicians, and all sorts of fanfare including fireworks, not just on these major festivals either, but everyday. He is seen as a living child and the mayordomo must lull Him to sleep every night. Therefore, it becomes a full-time job, connecting the mayordomo and their family to the Holy Family who had to rear the Baby Jesus.

But, not only does the mayordomo’s Faith compel them to continue throughout the year, but so does the tradition of this example of folk Catholicism. What I mean by folk Catholicism is a localized version of Catholicism that is not heretical, rather, it is localized and includes the whole community. In the Niñopa’s case, this example of folk Catholicism stems back many years.

The origins of the Niñopa in Xochimilco date back to the 16th Century and is at least 449 years old. Following the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire which included by then, the former independent city-state of Xochimilco, the monks of the then newly established Franciscan Monastery of San Bernardino created this image as a substitute for the Xochomilca’s worship of the child image of Huitzilopochtli for the growth of corn on December 26th. The Franciscans recognized that by allowing the Xochomilca the ability to venerate a Child of Jesus Image, they could grow closer to Jesus and become better Catholics by focusing on the humility, simplicity, and peacefulness of the Baby Jesus, and by making Him a symbol of their community. 

Today, this monastery is the San Bernardino de Siena Church, Xochomilco’s parish Church, where many of the festivals take place, and today, to be a Xochimilca, one often seeks many interactions with the Niñopa to the point that many families create copies of the original to house in their own homes for intercession. 

Candlemas is the most special day for the Niñopa, and this can draw crowds of over 4,000 people. It is on this day especially that the whole community becomes one in Christ, making our Church truly universal, at least in Xochimilco. 

And even the Archbishop of Mexico (City) may be present at these events, signaling the magnitude of this Catholic cult.

Yet, today is not only a day for those in Xochimilco to celebrate, but it is also a day for all of us to celebrate too.

Today marks the end of the Christmas-Epiphany season and is the presentation of Jesus to the Temple. 

Today, our Savior is brought forth to the world like a Light in darkness, and thus the name for the holiday and the tradition of bringing candles to bless and in Xochomilco’s case, Baby Jesus Images to venerate. 

When we approach this holiday, we must remember that we are called to worship Jesus and we are called to pray for constant intercession so that we can grow closer to our mission of becoming better Christians. And we often do this best when we include others such as family, our parish, or even our wider community in worshiping God. 

Therefore, I would suggest that everyone who reads this today finds a way to either celebrate a unique Candlemas tradition or to read and watch another Candlemas tradition in order to fully submerge your thoughts into loving Jesus and believing in His reality. 

Of course, one may have to wait until the weekend when there will probably be a mass some place near you. But, no matter the day, it is so important for all of us to find a way to really take the time to understand the importance of the Image of the Child Jesus at the temple and in our own lives. The most powerful being became what we often view as our weakest versions of ourselves. God lived just as us, vulnerable, afraid, new to the world. These are feelings we must acknowledge when we confront others who may need our support. And that is why we have Candlemas, to remind us that even our King has lived through vulnerabilities. 

We may not have the cultural togetherness and tradition of Xochimilco, but a simple act of asking for candles to be blessed can be a reminder to us that God does exist and works through many of our traditions to be constant reminders so that we never falter from His way.